1. PREACHING FROM THE PENTATEUCH Foundations of Faith  comprises five scrolls (Pentateuch)  labelled Torah by the Jews  translation: ‘instruction’ (rather than ‘law’)  varied genre (e.g. narrative, law, poetry, genealogy)

2. PREACHING THE PENTATEUCH The Story of Faith A story about  God and this world  God takes humanity seriously  God involved in the nitty-gritty of life  the people of God

3. PREACHING THE PENTATEUCH Entering the Story The Big Picture The story of God and his people Specific stories Approaching narrative

4. Deut 1-34 Num 11-36 Num 1-10 Ex 19 – 40 Num 1-10 Ex 1-18 Gen 12-50 STRUCTURE OF THE PENTATEUCH The Story Unfolds Gen 1 -11 The formation of the world - the formation of the people of God

5. THE BOOK OF GENESIS A story of beginnings  Genesis means birth (note toledot structure)  the Song of creation and period pre-flood  a new beginning - the flood and the consequences  ancestor stories – the beginning of a nation

6. THE BOOK OF EXODUS A story of redemption  Exodus 1:1 - 15:21 – A story of liberation  Exodus 15:21 – 40:30 – A story of formation God creates a people for himself by....  rescuing and sustaining them  establishing a covenant with them

7. THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS A story of ideal living  the holiness of God and of his people  the holiness code (Leviticus 17-26) Holiness suggests  the separateness (otherness) of God  righteousness (and justice) - seen through conformity to the law

8. THE BOOK OF NUMBERS A story of the wilderness  the journey from near Sinai, via Kadesh, and in the Plains of Moab  final 40 years of Moses’ life and work  the death of the old generation, the rise of the new

9. THE BOOK OF DEUTERONONY A story of preparation  on the threshold of the Promised land  Moses’ farewell speeches (preached law)  Moses’ final days and death Deuteronomy mimics ANE legal documents – a covenant treaty and law code

10. THE MESSAGE OF THE PENTATEUCH In different times and settings  12 th C - guarded optimism  10 th C - celebration and protest  7 th C - reassurance to the dispirited  5 th C - hope in difficult times Gordon Wenham Exploring the Old Testament Volume 1 The Pentateuch

11. PREACHING THE PENTATEUCH Take care when retelling the story don’t......  allegorise historical narrative  take out of context  moralise  apply too individualistically  redefine Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth

12. THEOLOGY OF THE PENTATEUCH God at the centre  God - transcendent creator  humanity made in his image  sinful humanity in need of his salvation  God – holy, loving, faithful, just  God – active as creator, as Lord active in redeeming and caring active as judge

13. THE SHAPING OF THE PENTATEUCH Take care when retelling the story  Source criticism  Documentary Hypothesis (JEDP)  Form criticism  Oral Tradition (and the form of the story)  Redaction Criticism  Canonical Criticism  Literary Criticism  Rhetorical Criticism